Three Girls (TV series)
Three Girls is a three-part British television drama series, written by screenwriter Nicole Taylor, and directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, broadcast on three consecutive nights between 16 and 18 May 2017 on BBC One.[1] A co-production between BBC Studios and Studio Lambert, the series is a dramatised version of the events surrounding the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, and describes how the authorities failed to investigate allegations of rape because the victims were perceived as unreliable witnesses, and the local authorities didn’t investigate through fear of being accused of racism because of the ethnicity of the perpetrators.[2]
Three Girls | |
---|---|
Genre | True crime |
Written by | Nicole Taylor |
Directed by | Philippa Lowthorpe |
Starring | Maxine Peake Lesley Sharp Molly Windsor Ria Zmitrowicz Liv Hill Ace Bhatti Paul Kaye Jill Halfpenny Bo Bragason Lisa Riley |
Composer | Natalie Holt |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 3 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Lucy Richer Hilary Salmon Susan Hogg |
Producer | Simon Lewis |
Cinematography | Matt Gray BSC |
Editor | Úna Ní Dhonghaíle |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Production companies | BBC Studios and Studio Lambert |
Release | |
Original network | BBC One |
Original release | 16 May – 18 May 2017 |
Three Girls drew a strong viewing audience upon its first broadcast, with 8.24 million viewers for episode one, 7.88 million for episode two and 8.19 million for episode three.[3] The series was released on DVD in Region 2 on 8 January 2018.[4]
A BBC documentary on the case, The Betrayed Girls, was broadcast on 3 July 2017 as a follow-up to the drama.[5]
Plot
The story is told from the viewpoint of three of the victims: fourteen-year-old Holly Winshaw (Molly Windsor), sixteen-year-old Amber Bowen (Ria Zmitrowicz) and her younger sister Ruby (Liv Hill); although the focus later shifts to sexual health worker Sara Rowbotham (Maxine Peake), the main whistleblower who drew attention to the case after repeated pleas for help from social services and the police fell on deaf ears.
DC Margaret Oliver (Lesley Sharp), the lead investigator on the case, manages to gain the support of her superior officer, Sandy Guthrie (Jason Hughes) to instigate a full-blown investigation. However, despite significant evidence, the CPS decided to drop the case because of an “unrealistic prospect of conviction”. After Margaret convinces Amber Bowen to testify against her former boyfriend, Tariq (Wasim Zakir), the case is re-opened by recently appointed public prosecutor Nazir Afzal (Ace Bhatti), who with the assistance of the police and the victims involved, manages to secure convictions against ten men involved in the ring.[6]
Rowbotham, Oliver, and Afzal all acted as consultants on the series.[7]
Cast
- Maxine Peake as Sara Rowbotham
- Lesley Sharp as DC Margaret Oliver
- Molly Windsor as Holly Winshaw
- Ria Zmitrowicz as Amber Bowen
- Liv Hill as Ruby Bowen
- Ace Bhatti as Nazir Afzal
- Paul Kaye as Jim Winshaw
- Jill Halfpenny as Julie Winshaw
- Bo Bragason as Rachel Winshaw
- Lisa Riley as Lorna Bowen
- Naomi Radcliffe as Yvonne
- Jason Hughes as DC Sandy Guthrie
- Rupert Procter as DC Jack Harrop
- Ross Anderson as PC Richard Bryan
- Antonio Aakeel as Immy
- Wasim Zakir as Tariq
- Zee Sulleyman as Billy
- Simon Nagra as Daddy
Episodes
Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Viewers (millions)[8] |
Original airdate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Episode 1" | Nicole Taylor | Philippa Lowthorpe | 8.24 | 16 May 2017 |
2 | "Episode 2" | Nicole Taylor | Philippa Lowthorpe | 7.88 | 17 May 2017 |
3 | "Episode 3" | Nicole Taylor | Philippa Lowthorpe | 8.19 | 18 May 2017 |
Link to Finsbury Park attack
In June 2017, a terrorist attack was launched against mosque-goers in Finsbury Park. The attacker, Darren Osborne, used a van to run over Muslim pedestrians, killing one man and injuring several others. In the course of the trial, it was remarked that Osborne developed an obsession with Muslims after watching Three Girls.[9]
Reception
Accolades
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | WFTV Awards | The Deluxe Director Award | Philippa Lowthorpe | Won | [10] |
Festival de la Fiction TV Awards | Jury Special Prize for European Fiction | Three Girls | Won | ||
Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Director - Drama | Philippa Lowthorpe | Nominated | [11] | |
Editing - Drama | Úna Ní Dhonghaíle | Won | |||
Music - Original Score | Natalie Holt | Nominated | |||
Photography - Drama & Comedy | Matt Gray | Won | |||
2018 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Mini-Series | Three Girls | Won | [12] |
Best Actress | Molly Windsor | Won | |||
Best Supporting Actress | Liv Hill | Nominated | |||
British Academy Television Craft Awards | Best Director: Fiction | Philippa Lowthorpe | Won | [13] | |
Best Writer: Drama | Nicole Tyler | Won | |||
Best Editing: Fiction | Úna Ní Dhonghaíle | Won | |||
Irish Film & Television Awards | Editing | Úna Ní Dhonghaíle | Won | [14] | |
RTS Programme Awards - West of England | Best Television Drama | Three Girls | Won | [15] | |
Best Director Drama | Philippa Lowthorpe | Won | |||
Royal Television Society Programme Awards | Mini-Series | Three Girls | Won | [16] | |
Writer Award - Drama | Nicole Taylor | Won | |||
Breakthrough Award - On Screen | Molly Windsor | Nominated | |||
Broadcasting Press Guild | Best Single Drama/Mini-series | Three Girls | Won | [17] | |
UK Broadcast Awards | Best Drama Series or Serial | Three Girls | Won | [18] | |
References
- Lara Martin; James Rodger (23 May 2017). "BBC drama Three Girls: What happened to the sex abuse victims". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- "Three Girls: who is Sara Rowbotham? The sexual health worker behind the uncovering of the Rochdale child-abuse scandal". The Telegraph. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- "Weekly top 30 programmes - BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
- "Three Girls". Amazon UK. 8 January 2018.
- "The Betrayed Girls: Five things we learned about the Rochdale grooming scandal from BBC documentary". The Manchester Evening News. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- Homa Khaleeli (16 May 2017). "Molly Windsor, star of Rochdale abuse drama Three Girls: 'It made me really angry'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- "Three Girls (TV Mini-Series 2017)". IMDb.
- "Top 30 Programmes – BARB". barb.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- "Darren Osborne guilty of Finsbury Park mosque murder". BBC News. 1 February 2018.
- "Meet the 2017 Women in Film and Television Award Winners". WFTV. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- "CRAFT & DESIGN AWARDS 2017". Royal Television Society. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- "Bafta TV Awards: Britain's Got Talent, Love Island and Blue Planet II win". BBC News. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- "Nominations Announced for the British Academy Television Craft Awards in 2018". Bafta. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- "IFTA Film &Drama Awards Ceremony Winners". www.ifta.ie. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
- Bristol (18 March 2018). "RTS West of England Awards - winners announced!". UK RTS. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- "RTS Programme Awards 2018, In Partnership with Audio Network". UK RTS. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- "BPG Awards 2018". Broadcasting Press Guild Association. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- "Winners 2018". The Broadcast Awards. February 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
External links
- Three Girls at BBC Online
- Three Girls at IMDb